1966 6v/12v wiring question

[purehp]

Hello all,

I’m converting my 1966 deluxe to 12v. The question I have is the regulator in the engine compartment do I get rid of it and rewire the wires connected to it.
I’ve found a few full writeups on how to convert a 66 beetle and they remove the regulator. I’ve searched with various keywords with no answer to my question.

Can anyone guide me please.

Thanks in advance.

[70bus]

If you are using a 12v generator you will need a 12v regulator. An alternator usually doesn't use that kind of regulator, but you can bypass it and make it look stock:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.phpt=509812&highlight=alternator+regulator

Some alternators don't need regulators

From Dale M

[Buggeee]

[Buggeee]

Also, among the 12v radio and 12v wiper motor and whatnot that you will be sorting out, the 66 has a 9-pin relay down there by your right knee, and those are available in 12v. If I recall, Wolfsburg West has them, or other vendors. Don't throw away your 6v 9-pin relay as they are no longer available and very difficult to come by in working order. There is a hack to create one out of a hand full of ordinary relays that is mentioned in my 66 Bus thread in my signature block, which I had to do when dropping back down to 6v to make use of an old engine.

There are voltage step down units available from 12v to 6v to put in line for the 6v pieces you can't or don't replace with 12v, and those are available from the usual vendors as well.
_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[70bus]

[Clara]

[70bus]

Don't want to hijack the thread, but is there a change date for this?

[Clara]

[crofty]

[70bus]

OP, since you will need to get 12v gen/reg or alternator anyways, here's another possibility - stick with a generator BUT get the 38A version. This requires a few parts that can be hard to find, but are out there:

dished fan mounting plate (easy to find)
cast iron gen pulley; important to get proper belt alignment! A little hard to find.
38A regulater. Out there, but sometimes pricey. You can use a 30A regulator, but it will only pass 30 amps, so the extra 8 in the gen aren't available. However you can use one while you look for 38A version.
38A generator - I've seen them NOS or rebuilt for 150 - 200, or have a used one rebuilt for about same cost.

That keeps everything wired and looking stock. Plenty of electrical power.
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[purehp]

Wow, thank you so much for all the replies. Looking back I should have given more information about what I have done so far.

I bought a 12v conversion kit. I’ve already swapped the generator for an alternator. 6v choke to 12v choke. Updated alt stand along with 12v coil. The kit came with a 9pin relay which is next to install along with all the bulbs.

The two wires coming off the alt had corrosion so I made new ones. This made me question if 12v would fry the 6v regulator. I will throw this bit of information. The PO had wired in two solenoid relays. One next the coil and one next to the starter. Obviously they were having issues with the system. Which I encountered as well when I ran the bus for a year before deciding to convert to 12v. One of the solenoids had a blue wire that wasn’t connected to anything. It’s safe to a say I’ll remove that along with the second solenoid one next to the starter?

I’ll add more photos.

[70bus]

Relay by starter sounds like a 'hot start' setup; if you rewire the bus from front to back that won't be an issue and it isn't needed . Might not be needed on original harness if you clean all connections (and Eric and Barb should be here shortly to list the other things they suggest to improve electrical reliability!).

And yes, 12v does terrible things to 6v units, eventually if not immediately.
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[purehp]

Thank you for the diagram. This makes a lot of sense. If I wire the B+ directly to the starter and D+ to Ign would I tap into an existing wire or run a wire to the front?

[70bus]

I've never wired an alternator - maybe post a pic or at least model number so people who have done the job can better inform you of proper wiring.
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[purehp]

Here is a shot of entire engine currently. I do have one voltage drop but it seems I may need more than one since there’s the wiper motor, radio ?

[70bus]

6v Gas gauge - some folks say it lasts forever on 12v, some say it will smoke out eventually, and some say they fry quickly. 12v gauges are pretty available because of the 67 models. I don't THINK you can use a volt drop but others may know.

Of course you did the bulbs!
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater

[purehp]

I had doubts I was doing it correctly. Also some of my wires are different colors which also made me doubt even more.

Here are the wires coming out of the loom and the regulator. I’m assuming the white wire from the regulator to the alt should be green? The yellow wire from the regulator should be blue? In another thread someone removed the regulator and connected the green and blue wires together. Then red 10ga wire from the alt and the battery & the wire coming from the front (ign) together?

Configuration of wires on right side.

Close up of wires

Alt wiring - white wire should be green? This is the color that was there from PO so I replaced it with the same color.

[quote="Clara"][quote="purehp"]Hello all,

Generally when doing a 12V conversion you remove the 6V items and replace with the 12V version...
coil, generator, regulator, starter, bulbs, etc. So remove the 6V regulator and install the 12V one. The generator requires a regulator.

Are you wanting the remove the regulator entirely for some reason?
Many people have run a 12V system with a regulator in the engine compartment with no problems.

Maybe the issue is the earlier engines have the regulator directly on the skinny generator, and the later buses with fat generator the regulator is on the side of the engine compartment. (A stock 66 bus had a fat 6V generator.).. but in a bug when they got the fat generator they moved the regulator out of the engine compartment to under the back seat .
That is not a thing with a bus. That's for a bug.

The 12V bus has the regulator's on the right side of the engine compartment, which is also where it is for the 66 bus with fat 6V generator. So if you want to 12V it just put the 12V one where the 6V one is.

If you specifically want an alternator, you don't use the regulator.
I swapped in a motor with alternator into my 61 deluxe some years back, but left the regulator in place, but am not using it. It is not hurting anything.
As others said, you wire the alternator differently than the generator, and there are a number of threads on converting to alternator.

[purehp]

Thanks for the clarification

[purehp]

Thank you. I should have asked sooner would have saved me some time.

[70bus]

You DEFINITELY need an alternator expert for this, and I am not one.

However. If that's a 6v regulator hooked to a 12v alternator don't do that. Something will give and fry. UNLESS of course you are just using the old regulator cosmetically and wires from alt are going through it like the person did in my first post.

IF you are using that regulator AND it is a 12v unit it might be ok. Most alternators I've seen use a solid state little box, so please get a better opinion on that.

The light in your speedo cluster is an 'exciter' for the alternator to get it to run, so you do need to connect that.

I would suggest using factory colors if you can, even if just electrical tape on ends of wires, to help sort things out. Red means a certain thing (always hot) in VW wiring, as do all colors.
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people." - Robert Williams

Raul the 65 singlecab

Karl the 70 nine-seater